Sharing the baby news...

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!"
-Albert Einstein

[In the spirit of the following post and upon reflection of this post from Young House Love this week, I offer my thoughts about blogging... The beauty of authentic blogging is that it is organic, ever-changing, and able to keep up with what's fresh and current in the individual blogger's world. I hate when bloggers apologize for "off-topic" blog posts. A blog is a chronicle of the writer's life, and life doesn't always follow script (or mission statements and business plans). My feelings aren't hurt when a favorite blogger "strays" from their usual topics, even when I choose to stop following so fervently. I'm evolving, they're evolving... I wish them the best of luck on this crazy journey. END RANT!]


Baby fever is certainly where my head and heart are these days, and therefore that is the direction my blog is headed, at least for this season....

I've heard people say that they knew they were pregnant at the moment of conception, and several months ago, I wondered how you could possibly be sure. But, then, I myself had a feeling. By the end of May, I finally had the proof I needed in the double-pink lines on two home pregnancy tests.

Inspired by this pregnancy announcement idea from They Call Me Smudge, I whipped up a special card to share the news with Rob. When I handed the envelope over to him at lunch, he was a little confused, thinking it might be an early birthday gift. But, as soon as he opened it up, a huge grin spread across his face.

We waited a few more weeks to tell our families, choosing to send each of our moms a surprise package. Keeping with the tri-fold layout and inspired by this "Priceless" announcement on Dating Divas, I created a card with a photo from our summer vacation and the ultrasound photo. I wrapped it all up with a note that read, "There's a story behind this gift, so call me before you open."

And, then I stalked the USPS package tracker website waiting for the gifts to arrive at their destinations. We were able to FaceTime with both of our moms, as we shared the news. Isn't technology grand?!?! My mom was totally surprised, while Rob's mom swears she knew (she says I had a baby bump on vacation... at 7.5 weeks... I think not!)... but both were thrilled!

Neither was expecting a "close-up," but these expressions couldn't get any better!

We then called our sisters... well, actually we texted them the ultrasound photo while talking to them on the phone. (I repeat, I love technology!) Callie had figured it out... apparently my "call me when you're out of church" text was not as sneaky as I thought... she called me in between church gatherings to hear the news, and then had to call back later in the afternoon to get the full scoop! Stephanie, on the other hand, was completely caught off guard while shopping with the boys, but was so excited that she bought baby clothes as soon as she hung up with us.

We waited until reaching the second trimester to spread the news to the rest of our friends. Rob sent a few texts to faraway friends, and I made a few announcements to local ones, but mostly we just waited for the news to spread. At this point, my growing belly and ever-increasing maternity clothes wardrobe seem to be speaking for themselves.